Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council offices (Photo: Sean Dillow) Residents across the borough are preparing to go to the polls in all out borough council elections. Unlike usual elections in Basingstoke, all 60 councillors will be resigning their seats, with most going back to the polls seeking re-election. This is because of a number of changes, which include shifts in the boundaries of the individual wards, and the reduction in the number of councillors from 60 to 54. This will mean familiar faces will be saying goodbye to the council chamber come the first meeting in May. In total, 17 serving councillors have decided to stand down in May, with several decades of experience between them.
They are perhaps one of the most iconic features of Britain. But with most people having mobile phones in 2021, the need for the classic red telephone box has diminished. Pre-pandemic, taking a visit to the heart of London would not only see tourists looking at the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge, but also taking photos in a telephone box. Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1935, the K6 kiosk was commissioned by the General Post Office in 1935 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, and were one of eight types introduced between 1926 and 1983. Around 60,000 of the K6 kiosk were installed between 1936 and 1968, with around 3,400 still in operation in England today.